In a serious breach of railway regulations, four booking staff members at Mahim station on the Western Railway line have been suspended after a non-railway individual was found operating a ticket window during a surprise vigilance check on July 4.

The Railway Vigilance team, acting on specific intelligence regarding unauthorized activity at the booking office, arrived at Mahim station around 7:00 PM and discreetly monitored the functioning of the three Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) counters on Platform No. 1. During the check, one of the counters, Window No. 5, was found to be manned by an outsider who was actively issuing tickets and handling government cash without any official authorisation. Meanwhile, Window No. 4 had its shutter down by 8:00 PM and was non-functional, while Window No. 6 remained unmanned between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM.

At around 8:30 PM, the vigilance team entered the booking office in the presence of the Station Master. Inside, all designated booking personnel, including the Chief Booking Supervisor, the shift in-charge, and two booking clerks, were found sitting in a separate room having snacks while the unauthorized individual continued operating the booking counter.